TOR Press Embargo Lifted -- Consesus is an Overwhelming MEH

[ShadowsofHope]

The OP sounds like someone who was geared to despise the game from the start, on sole basis that it was an MMO..

My profile:
Interests: Statistics, Mathematics, MMOs
Interests: MMOs

Yes. I hate the game on the sole purpose of it being an MMO. Makes perfect sense really.

There are more than enough sites besides IGN that gave it bad press. I guess you can just pretend there are a lot of positive ones to keep up your denial that the game is a dud, but whatever.

Anyways, like I said, it has all been mediocre. The parts about the story clashing with the actual game were from Massively, and I cannot recall who said that the story and MMO combination was really distracting for your immersion. But it made sense. Basically, the reviewer was explaining about how jarring it is to be surrounded by tons of "heroes" before a cut scene, have them all vanish during the actual cut scene, and magically reappear. The game, frankly put, isn't going to satisfy people who want a single player RPG, and won't satisfy people who want an MMO, which is something I've been saying about TOR since more details came out on it.

The game has been hyped for the last 5 years, so I expect that a lot of the criticisms it is getting is going to be totally ignored by the consumers, because they desperately want the game to be good. I suppose the denial will slowly start to chip away once the game actually comes out, and people realize that it isn't good.

When I said MMO, I meant the change of pace from two purely single player games that both the first two Knights of the Old Republic were, to a full-on MMO that TOR is now.

And to be honest, I don't really care. Some of those sites, both favorable and not, have their biases that are implanted into the review to exaggerate the positive aspects and the negative aspects respectively. The only unbiased approach to really getting a number for the game, is going to be when it is fully released and all content is available. Until then, I remain favorable. If you want to call that "denial", then so be it. However, you were hardly fair and balanced on both the positive and negative aspects of the reviews that have come out so far on the game yourself, so my apologies if I don't exactly take your word for it.

 

[Zipa]

I dont know what press reviews you were reading OP, I to have read 5 or so different reviews and they have all been positive about TOR in some manner. Talk about lack of objectivity. Now Im not denying some sites may be slating the game (and both positive and negative reviews are influenced by more than the actual game )

So yea you do come across as rather one sided here OP.

 

[Worgen]

I think its going to be popular enough to keep around for awhile but I doubt it will really dent wow too much since it pretty much is wow, but with an interesting companion system. If I wasn't tired of starwars and it didn't have origin I might at least give it a shot but since I'm both tired of starwars and I don't like origin, I wont. Next mmo that I'm planning on sinking my time into is guildwars 2.

 

[Dejanus]

The OP sounds like someone who was geared to despise the game from the start, on sole basis that it was an MMO..

My profile:
Interests: Statistics, Mathematics, MMOs
Interests: MMOs

Yes. I hate the game on the sole purpose of it being an MMO. Makes perfect sense really.

There are more than enough sites besides IGN that gave it bad press. I guess you can just pretend there are a lot of positive ones to keep up your denial that the game is a dud, but whatever.

Anyways, like I said, it has all been mediocre. The parts about the story clashing with the actual game were from Massively, and I cannot recall who said that the story and MMO combination was really distracting for your immersion. But it made sense. Basically, the reviewer was explaining about how jarring it is to be surrounded by tons of "heroes" before a cut scene, have them all vanish during the actual cut scene, and magically reappear. The game, frankly put, isn't going to satisfy people who want a single player RPG, and won't satisfy people who want an MMO, which is something I've been saying about TOR since more details came out on it.

The game has been hyped for the last 5 years, so I expect that a lot of the criticisms it is getting is going to be totally ignored by the consumers, because they desperately want the game to be good. I suppose the denial will slowly start to chip away once the game actually comes out, and people realize that it isn't good.

That's great and all, but you are still grossly misrepresenting the actual response to the game. Kotaku, The Escapist, PC Gamer, and many others have positive previews up, and it seems to be delivering the interesting and immersive narrative that was promised while also providing a solid combat engine for the basic gameplay.

You are very obviously someone who has a vested interest in this game's failure, you said so yourself, you have been calling for it for some time. It seems obvious to me you read the parts of previews you agreed with, ignored the majority of the rest that were actually positive or optimistic, and then reported your analysis as fact.

Frankly, that is despicable.

 

[intheweeds]

The closest thing you could find to a good review was IGN? What about this one?

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/starwarsknightsoftor/review.html

Uh, that's for KOTOR, the single player RPG that came out years ago.

I'm still excited - I love Star Wars, I love BioWare, and ever since quitting WoW earlier this year, I admit I have had an itch to play again from time to time. So even if TOR is similar, I think it'll be great.

fair enough. fair enough. I have messed up, truly and spectacularly!

I still say it sounds pretty good from what I've heard about the beta. I still reserve any real judgment until it comes out too.

Lots of games that didn't get 'stellar' reviews I have greatly enjoyed. I usually use reviews to get a vague idea, but so much of a games enjoyment is a personal 'emotional' thing and can't be summed up by listing specific mechanics in a review.

I am in a similar position having quit Wow earlier this year myself. From what I've heard it sounds quite promising.

 

[Zipa]

I think its going to be popular enough to keep around for awhile but I doubt it will really dent wow too much since it pretty much is wow, but with an interesting companion system. If I wasn't tired of starwars and it didn't have origin I might at least give it a shot but since I'm both tired of starwars and I don't like origin, I wont. Next mmo that I'm planning on sinking my time into is guildwars 2.

TOR doesn't need origin if you buy a copy from a brick and mortar store. Its only needed for the Direct digital download.

 

[orangeban]

Frankly I haven't given a rat's toss to TOR since I first heard about it. It's going to be the pinnacle of story telling for an MMO is it Bioware? Well, yeah, but "for an MMO" that's not exactly difficult, and frankly if story is all you have to sell it on then you're a bit stuffed because there are plenty of other games out there that will likely deliver a much finer writing experience, say, any one of Bioware's previous games. So TOR really needs to deliver on the gameplay front, which I just don't see it doing, especially not after reading the press previews.

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

I would've put money on this being the outcome. Aside from people always expecting a new release of an MMO to be as polished as something that's had the benefit of seven years of patches like WoW, MMO's are something of a gimmick.

I would agree with you if it weren't people in the MMO PRESS are saying this about TOR. You know, people whose sole job is to report on news IN THE MMO GENRE. These aren't just random assholes picked up off the street, but people whose passion and livelihood are MMOs.

It's not looking good for TOR.

The MMO press is... who, exactly? People who work at gaming sites. It's Gamespot's job to review games, does that make them respected? Fuck no, they're unreliable as shit. Same goes for IGN, and all the other big review sites and magazines. Anyone who really gives a damn about MMOs is going to do two things:

1. They are going to wait for the consumers' response. You are almost guaranteed to agree more with a guy who plays MMOs because he likes them than a guy who plays MMOs because he is paid to.

2. They will try it themselves. The press is useless determining whether you, personally, will enjoy a game. I, for one, will actually try it before I decide to go off on the internet and practice my doomsday preacher routine.

Yes, because games like Guild Wars 2 and to much lesser extents, games like Tera, Secret Worlds, Blades and Souls don't stand to do something totally different and new in MMOs. Nope. It's nothing but a genre of regurgitated shit.

I'm going to be honest, my opinion of you dropped like a balloon suddenly filled with rocks here. I have seen Guild Wars 2, and anyone who says it's anything but a generic MMO with some distracting shiny paint is living in denial. And the story and interaction within it is an absolute joke.

If you are going to call a lot of people's opinions worthless and say you lost all respect for a poster the least you could do is elaborate rather than just say I think the gameplay looks generic and story mechanisms look gimmicky.

OT: Well I have personally yet to give it a go but this was my thoughts all along game player wise. I would have thought the story would have blended better but I'll have to see for myself. Also you could actually source a few of these. Just saying for all I know I could be commenting on imaginary reviews/previews. Besides my opinion tends to differ greatly from the reviewers and usually more towards the play score.

 

[Vrach]

Funny, the five or so previews I read were all varying shades of positive. Sure you are not just reading what you want to read, friend?

I'm inclined to think this is the case too. Because every preview I've seen was positive.

Chiming in to agree. Pretty much every single review I've seen out there is positive and the major complaints were "safe" (which I don't find bad in the slightest, case-in-point reason being the myriad of shitty "vastly innovative" MMOs and games in general) and beta-related issues.

So yeah, how about a little sourcing?

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

Care to provide some links? I'd be interested in reading these previews.

Everything I've seen so far has been mildly positive. Not gushing with praise, but far from what you describe.

this.

if i remember right OP, you were the same one who went and jizzed over every MMO thread relating to TOR about guild wars 2, and then went to say that TOR will be utter shite.

correct me if i'm wrong however...


I don't care what some MMO guru's say about TOR, i'm picking up my first legit MMO, not because it is an MMO, but because it is star wars and because it continues on kotor 1 and 2, so basically OP everything you said and all of those mmo paid to play reviewers, can go fuck all if they think i'm going to base buying the game off of them or not.

 

[Worgen]

I think its going to be popular enough to keep around for awhile but I doubt it will really dent wow too much since it pretty much is wow, but with an interesting companion system. If I wasn't tired of starwars and it didn't have origin I might at least give it a shot but since I'm both tired of starwars and I don't like origin, I wont. Next mmo that I'm planning on sinking my time into is guildwars 2.

TOR doesn't need origin if you buy a copy from a brick and mortar store. Its only needed for the Direct digital download.

I'm pretty sure it does, just like battlefield 3. I can completely see, if its not already required, ea adding it as a requirement since the only way they can get people to use origin is stacking it on bf3 and sw.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

So the TOR press embargo got lifted, meaning that sites are able to review and discuss the game.

So far, there hasn't been much positive said about the game. The closest there's been to something nice was from IGN, and they basically said that it's "solid" but incredibly safe (which basically translates to "WoW with lightsabers"). Other sites have said that the single player story elements and MMO elements all clash, fuck up the immersion something fierce, and just feels awkward. Worse yet, I've read one or two impressions that have called the story elements outright unnecessary and distracting.

So, TOR is basically going to be a dud. It will probably keep the really desperate and really naive happy for a few months, but most have been saying there isn't much there. I feel bad for all the people who have been following this game for the last 5 years... must be hard to see all these mediocre and unimpressed reviews of the game.

you might want to pull forth some sources, as from what most of the people in the thread have seen, were pretty positive reviews.

unless it's opposite day on the escapist and i just didn't get the memo

 

[Vrach]

The parts about the story clashing with the actual game were from Massively, and I cannot recall who said that the story and MMO combination was really distracting for your immersion. But it made sense. Basically, the reviewer was explaining about how jarring it is to be surrounded by tons of "heroes" before a cut scene, have them all vanish during the actual cut scene, and magically reappear.

Yeah, it's what tends to happen when you have something new. And where exactly are you coming from with the idea that something like this is remotely close to being a dealbreaker for someone?

Also, how is that any more jarring than being teleported instantly into a dungeon in WoW via the LFG system, placing a Mage portal that shows an image rather than the other side of that portal or a myriad of random little bullshit no one gives two shits about after noticing them more than a few times? It's a game, yes, guess what, it has unrealistic elements to satisfy gameplay reasons, it's neither new or uncommon to anyone who's played a few games already.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

So the TOR press embargo got lifted, meaning that sites are able to review and discuss the game.

So far, there hasn't been much positive said about the game. The closest there's been to something nice was from IGN, and they basically said that it's "solid" but incredibly safe (which basically translates to "WoW with lightsabers"). Other sites have said that the single player story elements and MMO elements all clash, fuck up the immersion something fierce, and just feels awkward. Worse yet, I've read one or two impressions that have called the story elements outright unnecessary and distracting.

So, TOR is basically going to be a dud. It will probably keep the really desperate and really naive happy for a few months, but most have been saying there isn't much there. I feel bad for all the people who have been following this game for the last 5 years... must be hard to see all these mediocre and unimpressed reviews of the game.

What the hell is this rubbish? Every single thing I've read from any major gaming site post embargo lift has been positive, if not overwhelmingly positive.

And beautiful, the way half this thread just chimes along with "EXACTLY WHAT I SUSPECTED HERP DERP".

Confirmation biases, rage on.

 

[Zipa]

I think its going to be popular enough to keep around for awhile but I doubt it will really dent wow too much since it pretty much is wow, but with an interesting companion system. If I wasn't tired of starwars and it didn't have origin I might at least give it a shot but since I'm both tired of starwars and I don't like origin, I wont. Next mmo that I'm planning on sinking my time into is guildwars 2.

TOR doesn't need origin if you buy a copy from a brick and mortar store. Its only needed for the Direct digital download.

I'm pretty sure it does, just like battlefield 3. I can completely see, if its not already required, ea adding it as a requirement since the only way they can get people to use origin is stacking it on bf3 and sw.

No Bioware confirmed awhile back that the digital edition is exclusive to Origin but you do not need Origin to run the actual game, it has a completely seperate client for that which is un related to origin. Obviously this only applies to retail copies, DDE copies need origin.
http://www.vg247.com/2011/06/16/bioware-clarifies-swtor-exclusivity-on-origins/

 

[Avalanche91]

Frankly I don't care. I find it particulary hard to care about Star Wars in this day and age. Are there honestly people who are shocked or surprised to see a Star Wars game that's mediocre? Really? Pattern Recognition, come on.

Can we put this franchise to rest now?

Please?

Even the fans are only going on, on the fumes of the original trilogy.

 

[Dejanus]

So the TOR press embargo got lifted, meaning that sites are able to review and discuss the game.

So far, there hasn't been much positive said about the game. The closest there's been to something nice was from IGN, and they basically said that it's "solid" but incredibly safe (which basically translates to "WoW with lightsabers"). Other sites have said that the single player story elements and MMO elements all clash, fuck up the immersion something fierce, and just feels awkward. Worse yet, I've read one or two impressions that have called the story elements outright unnecessary and distracting.

So, TOR is basically going to be a dud. It will probably keep the really desperate and really naive happy for a few months, but most have been saying there isn't much there. I feel bad for all the people who have been following this game for the last 5 years... must be hard to see all these mediocre and unimpressed reviews of the game.

What the hell is this rubbish? Every single thing I've read from any major gaming site post embargo lift has been positive, if not overwhelmingly positive.

And beautiful, the way half this thread just chimes along with "EXACTLY WHAT I SUSPECTED HERP DERP".

Confirmation biases, rage on.

It is amazing that he can just come out and say that, and half the damn internet jumps out of the woodwork to back him up even though casual research reveals his claim as utter fabrication at worst and gross misrepresentation at best. At least some of us are calling him on it.

 

[INeedAName]

Yeah, would you mind providing some of these previews? Granted I've only read a few of them, but most of what've been said has been positive. Just the Escapist's article on the subject, mostly dealing with the story element of the game, said the story was solid, the AI was good and the combat was true to the Star Wars franchise.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/reviews/previews/9186-Star-Wars-The-Old-Republic-Hands-On

If you haven't read it.

They don't have any conclusive final statement about their impression yet, probably because they'll make one or more follow up articles, but from what I could gather it was fairly positive.

 

[Worgen]

I think its going to be popular enough to keep around for awhile but I doubt it will really dent wow too much since it pretty much is wow, but with an interesting companion system. If I wasn't tired of starwars and it didn't have origin I might at least give it a shot but since I'm both tired of starwars and I don't like origin, I wont. Next mmo that I'm planning on sinking my time into is guildwars 2.

TOR doesn't need origin if you buy a copy from a brick and mortar store. Its only needed for the Direct digital download.

I'm pretty sure it does, just like battlefield 3. I can completely see, if its not already required, ea adding it as a requirement since the only way they can get people to use origin is stacking it on bf3 and sw.

No Bioware confirmed awhile back that the digital edition is exclusive to Origin but you do not need Origin to run the actual game, it has a completely seperate client for that which is un related to origin. Obviously this only applies to retail copies, DDE copies need origin.
http://www.vg247.com/2011/06/16/bioware-clarifies-swtor-exclusivity-on-origins/

Ahh, it appears I stand corrected, well at least that is one thing that ea didn't fuck up, I'm still probably going to pass though since as I said before I'm just tired of starwars.

 

[Gizmo1990]

My hope is that when it bombs Bioware take the cutsceans and other story elements, build a new game around it and call it KOTOR 3 - Sorry for making this an MMO to begin with.